Death toll in Congo aircraft crash increases

Airline Industry Information, Dec 2, 2003

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The death toll from an aircraft crash in central Congo on 29 November 2003 has been increased to 33 people.

According to authorities, the Antonov 26 aircraft had been attempting to take off from the city of Boende when a tyre burst, leaving the pilot unable either to become airborne or to brake. The aircraft is said to have come to ground in a little market at the end of the airstrip, killing all six members of the military crew and 14 of the 18 passengers aboard the aircraft as well as 13 people in the market.

It was earlier reported that 22 people were killed, reported The Associated Press.

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